HONORING THE LEGACY CAMPAIGN 

News: Angela Lieurance thought it was pretty cool last year when approximately 125 women turned out for the inaugural Cowgirls & Cocktails, a fundraiser that she put together for the National Western Stock Show’s $150 million Honoring the Legacy Campaign.  

This year, she was blown away by the response.  

On Jan. 11, 340 women gathered at the National Western Club to enjoy cocktails, nibbles and networking before adjourning to the Denver Coliseum for the evening’s pro-rodeo performance.  

The event, she noted, was sold out with a waiting list literally moments after a save-the-date card was emailed to previous attendees in early September. “It seemed like everyone who was here in 2023 wanted to come back – and bring their friends.” 

Lieurance is the director of the Honoring the Legacy Campaign; Pete Coors, the 2011 Citizen of the West and long-time member of the NWSS board of directors, is the campaign chair. 

“We started this last year as a way for women to become better-connected to the Stock Show,” said Carrie Coors Tynan, who chaired the 2024 edition with fellow family members Ashley, Meredith and Molly Coors and Melissa Coors Osborn. “We’re harnessing an energy and passion … for keeping the Western spirit alive and at the front of society.” 

Pete Coors and NWSS board chair Doug Jones were the only men allowed to the 4:30 p.m. gathering – and they stayed just long enough to offer brief words of welcome.  

Coors noted that the campaign, which is scheduled to conclude in 2026, has raised a little over $115 million to date, and thanked those present for helping to up the total. “We still have some heavy lifting to do, but we’ll get it done,” he said. Jones added that the expansion that the campaign is funding will “Add exciting pieces” to the Stock Show campus and further enhance the 118-year-old event’s already stellar reputation. 

Chancy Love, a trustee of the National Western Stock Show Association who also served as the first chair of the Young Guns, a group of young professionals supporting the Coors Western Art Exhibit and Sale, marveled at seeing the National Western Club packed with women. “The first time I walked into this room it was filled with men wearing blue blazers,” she recalled. “This is a great time to be a woman supporting agriculture.” 

About the organization: The $150 million Honoring the Legacy Campaign is being conducted to continue the growth of the world famous National Western Stock Show – which is already regarded as the Super Bowl of Livestock Shows. When complete, the National Western Center’s new and adaptively re-used buildings will host more than 300 events annually, attracting 2.3 million visitors and driving an economic impact of more than $230 million per year. The campaign is led by Pete Coors and directed by Angela Lieurance. 

Website: honoringthelegacycampaign.com 

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